Interesting facts on the weapons of WWII

During World War II, M1 Garands were shipped to all our major allies -- Great Britain, Nationalist China and all Latin American allied belligerents. After their liberation, we reequipped the entire Free French Army, then did the same for Belgian, Philippine and some Italian forces. Allied fighting forces from occupied countries included those from Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and Greece. In the immediate aftermath of the war. M1 Garands were furnished to Norway, Denmark, Italy, the Japanese Defense Forces, South Korea and the new States of Israel. Some of these rifles were returned in later years and more were shipped during the Cold War as military aid. How many hundreds of thousands of the 6 million M1 Garands were sent overseas as military aid will probably never be known. Meanwhile, those M1 Garands that served with U.S. forces saw service from the Korean peninsula to the Dominican Republic before being retired. A very few were supplied to civilian match shooters through the Director of Civilian Marksmanship program and many hundreds of thousand more were destroyed, cut up with torches or band saw, or crushed and sold for scrap metal. So, as a rule of thumb, any M1 Garand marked with an importer's stamp has probably had the vast majority of its parts replaced.
Well the M-1 seems to be a really good weapon and according to what I've read, this gun has proven it's designer noteworthy and the gun an amazing piece of technology. Being the first semi-automatic designated service rifle, this is a sweet gun; also serving in all theaters in World War II as well as Korea and the beginning of Vietnam being replaced by the short lived M-14 and then later the M-16.

[ 11. October 2003, 07:23 AM: Message edited by: Onthefield ]

 

That's interesting - I've never read before that the M1 Garand was used anywhere by British forces. The logistical problem of incompatible ammunition must mean that they were stored somewhere ?

I know that old P14 and Ross Rifles were issued to the Home Guard in .303 rimmed & that small numbers of M1 carbines carried unofficially by airborne forces. Thompsons and .45 Colt Pistols were issued so supplies of .45 ACP were available.

 

I've never read before that the M1 Garand was used anywhere by British forces.

What did you expect No.1 Commando used in Torch when they were issued American helmets and weapons?

No.9

 

There you go - I'm always ready to learn....

 

Sorry for changing the subject here but did the British use the US uniforms because the French would not discuss things with the British? I think I´ve read something like this. How many British wore US uniforms and I think I read as well that the British were lead by US commanders as well to make it easier for the French to co-operate and surrender??

 

The M1 Garand was in the words of General Patton "The greatest battle implement ever devised". You must remember that in the early 1900's that no other governments were thinking of mass producing a self-loading service rifle. The idea to mass produced a self-loading rifle with interchangeable parts was beyond the realm of most governments with their decentralized armament manufactures. The design of a self loading rifle started as early as 1919 with several examples being produced in limited quantity. In 1929 the grandfather of the Garand rifle came to be. It's designer was a brilliant man named John Cantius Garand. His idea of a gas operated self-loading rifle remains one of the most accurate and reliable designs to this day. The first Garand rifle was chambered in .276 caliber, which was in favor with the military at its time of design. In 1932 it was decided to switch the caliber to the popular and already stockedpiled .30-06. 1936 marked the beginning of the end of all military bolt action service rifles. with the adoption of the "U.S. Semiautomatic Rifle, Caliber .30, M1". With the thoughts of another European war approaching production was stepped up. It was decided that the M1 was to be placed on a priority list for war production items. And Winchester expressed interest in receiving a production contract. Winchester received their contract in 1939 to produce the M1. World War Two produced over 4 million Garands.

http://www2.fwi.com/%7Efwalter/Garandpage.htm

A little history about the M-1 Garand is always a good thing.

 

I think your misquoting Patton I believe he actually made that statement about the jeep

 

I've seen the quote about Patton and the M1 Garand cited in several firearms books.

I wonder when and in what context he said it ?

 

Martin, Patton said that about the M-1 in the report to the Ordance Department during the fighting at Bataan on January 26, 1945

"Under combat conditions it operated with no mechanical defects and when used in foxholes did not develop stoppages from dust or dirt. It has been in almost constant action for as much as a week without cleaning or lubricatio. In my opinion, the M1 Rifle is the greatest battle implement ever devised." General George S. Patton Jr. reported to the Ordnance Department on January 26, 1945.

 

THE M1-D GARAND SNIPER RIFLE

This rare firearm was adopted during World War II and saw continued service through the Korean and Vietnam Wars. The most noteable difference between the M1-D and the standard M1 Service rifle lies in the scope mounting system. The "D" incorporates a special barrel which is fitted with an integral mounting block or "base". The scope mount is attached to this by a large knurled knob, allowing for easy installation and removal of the telescope unit. The M84 scope is steel bodied with an adjustable post and cross hair sighting system. It's unique and rugged design allows for complete disassembly and repair as well a field-simple adjustments for windage and elevation.

The gun was good enough to make a sniper rifle out of it as well as an infantry weapon.

 

The M1 Garand was the weapon of choice for infantry. The M1 Carbine, half the weight and with a less powerful cartridge, was the weapon of choice for support troops, and others not primarily involved in infantry combat. It was designed to meet combat needs less demanding than the M1 Rifle, but more than can be met by the M1911A1 pistol. It was more convenient to use than the M1, and less intrusive to their other duties, while still much more effective than hand guns.

The M1 Carbine: the War Baby. Baby because it was so much a 3/4 scale rifle; War Baby because it was the product of an urgently conceived requirement equally urgently satisfied by "Carbine" Williams and his colleagues at Winchester.

The Carbine was intended to "fill the gap" between the 9+ pound, full power M1 Rifle and the capable, but limited by its caliber, M1911A1 pistol. The intended user was the officer, the artilleryman, the signalman, the truck driver and the like, for whom the M1 Rifle was just too big and inconvenient to be practical, but who also needed a weapon with more useable reach than the pistol. At any but point-blank ranges the Carbine was easier to hit with than the pistol, too. More than 6 million Carbines were produced by a plethora of contractors, from hardware manufacturers to jukebox companies.
http://www.fulton-armory.com/M1_Carb.htm

 

Does anyone have any good pictures of the M1 Garand or any of the other guns I mentioned that they can put on here?

 

Does anyone have any info on the P08 Luger, I can't seem to find anything good. Greatly appreciated!

 

The Luger has its' very own Forum at : -

http://www.lugerforum.com/

With great picture galleries and plenty of historical info.

 

Thanks Martin!!! I'm definetly going to scrounge some information off there.

 

8.8 cm PAK 43/41 A emergency solution due to shortage of carriages for the PAK 43, the last barrel married with the carriage of the FH 18 and the sFH 18 wheels, too heavy, loved for his punch and hated for the difficulties to move

The Pak 43 / 41 was the preferred weapon for mobile anti-tank crews while the Pak 43 with its 360' traverse was more suited for semi-fixed positions

A pic for 43/41:

http://www.smhq.org/history/pak43-41.jpg

--------------

The Pak 43



When mounted on a carriage like that of the old Flak 18, the new 88 is called the 8.8-cm Pak 43.

http://www.lonesentry.com/new88mm/

The weight difference is clear:

For Pak 43/41 4380 kgs and Pak 43 3650 kgs

 

Some interesting stuff about the Thompson Sub Machine Gun.
Despite its excellent test performance, the Thompson was not adopted for use by either the US Army or Marine Corps. Still, Thompson contracted with Colt for the manufacture of 15,000 guns, designated "Thompson Submachine Gun, Model of 1921". The 15,000 guns manufactured by Colt lasted until the eve of World War II. In 1940, the U.S. Army ordered 20,000 Thompson submachine guns; in 1941 the Army ordered an additional 319,000.

 

Supplementary trivia

In 1940 Britain had precisely 40 in its arsenal. There could have been more, made in Britain, but prior to this time, BSA (Birmingham Small Arms) declined a license to manufacture. The new Commandos were to use these, but, only being 40 there obviously wasn’t enough to go round. So, to start with, the guns were drawn as required before an operation, and returned afterwards.

On the first Commando raid, Operation Collar, the guns were issued just prior with little more instruction than of the 'pull this, squeeze this' variety. On the night, CO Ronnie Tod found himself midway between the Commando’s boat and some Germans moving down the beach. Swinging into action, Ronnie raised his Thompson, pulled back the bolt, and the magazine dropped out!!! (good one Ron)

No.9

[ 23. November 2003, 11:18 PM: Message edited by: No.9 ]

 

The first self-loading rifles were made in the 19th century, and several were used in WW1 (the Germans in particular used Mauser and Mondragon self-loaders as aircraft armament). The first army to officially adopt a self-loader as standard was (believe it or not) the Mexican army before WW1 which selected the Mondragon, although I'm not sure they ever received them as WW1 got in the way.

In WW2 the German and Russian armies both used large quantities of self-loaders. However, these were all reserved for special units as they were considered too complex, expensive and difficult to maintain for standard issue. The US Army was therefore the first major army to issue a self-loader as its standard infantry rifle. There was nothing very special or new about the Garand's design, but it was a well-thought out and reliable weapon.

Tony Williams: Military gun and ammunition website and Discussion forum

 

Thanks for the info Tony and BTW, good to see you on the Forums again !